In mail service pharmacies and large retail pharmacies, prescription drugs are dispensed in high volume. For such services, automatic pill dispensing systems can be used to dispense prescription drugs and label pill containers. The containers can then be provided to a patient for whom the prescription was written.
Automatic pill dispensing systems can require a large infrastructure and a health care entity that provides prescriptions to patients may desire to contract out the filling of prescriptions. Accordingly, the entity hired to fill these prescriptions, such as pharmacy or pharmacy benefits management (PBM) entity may need to fill various prescriptions for multiple health care entities and may therefore need to brand the various prescriptions differently.
A known automatic pill dispensing system 100 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,657, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In the 5,771,657 patent, as shown in FIG. 1, orders (e.g., orders to fill prescriptions) are received by a host computer 9 which forwards the orders to a distributed computer system that can include a central computer called a Pharmacy Automation Controller 10 (PAC). PAC 10 maintains an order file of the information about each prescription to be filled that can include information needed to fill each prescription. The order file can, for example, be used to prepare a prescription label for each bottle/container (hereinafter bottle). The order file can also be used to facilitate printing literature that can be placed in a shipping container with the bottle(s). PAC 10 can also update the order file to maintain a record of the current status of each prescription being filled as it progresses through the automated system.
PAC 10 can control a set of Print, Apply and Load (PAL) stations 14 which print prescription bottle labels, apply the labels to bottles, and load the labeled bottles onto bottle carriers that preferably receive the bottles in scheduled locations. PAC 10 can also control a carrier conveyer system 21 that carries the bottle carriers to different parts of system 100, and one or more automatic drug dispensing machines 23 that dispense tablets and/or capsules into the bottles in the bottle carriers as they are carried by conveyer system 21. In addition, PAC 10 controls bottle cappers 25 that apply caps to the bottles, and OCP (order consolidation and packaging) stations 29 that unload bottles from the carriers and place them in shipping containers corresponding to a patient order. Further, PAC 10 can control literature printers 31 which print literature, for each prescription order, that can be enclosed in an envelope. Finally, PAC 10 can utilize bar code data that identifies the prescription order. The bar code can show through a window in the envelope. Envelopes can be placed on a literature conveyer 34 which carries the envelopes from the literature printers 31 to the OCP stations 29.
Conveyer system 21 carries the bottles in the carriers from PAL stations 14 through the automatic drug dispensing machines 23 to bottle cappers 25, and then from bottle cappers to OCP stations 29. Conveyer system 21 also carries empty carriers back to PAL stations 14. From bottle cappers 25, conveyers 56 feed the carriers onto an endless conveyer loop 71 which transports, for example, four carriers of a rank to one of, say, six OCP stations 29. Other numbers of OCP stations 29 can also be utilized. OCP stations 29 each also have a literature dispensing mechanism, which inserts the printed literature into each shipping container with the filled and capped prescription bottles.
As shown in FIG. 2, bottles to be automatically filled with the prescription drugs are introduced to the automated system by hoppers 37, which receive the bottles in bulk form and automatically feed the bottles to unscramblers 39. In one embodiment, one of the hoppers 37 and one of the unscramblers 39 can be for large bottles (e.g., 160 cc), and the remaining hoppers and unscramblers can be for small bottles (e.g., 110 cc). The small bottle size can preferably accommodate a majority of the automatically filled prescriptions. The bottles are directed to PAL stations 14 on bottle conveyers 41 and 43, for example, one for large bottles and one for small bottles.
Conveyers 45, under control by PAC 10, carry the bottle carriers from the four PAL stations 14 to carrier buffers at the entrances of the four automatic drug dispensing machines 23 in which the tablets or capsules of the prescriptions are automatically dispensed into the prescription bottles under the control of PAC 10. Because of the organization provided by the carriers, the bottles are arranged into four columns approaching each automatic dispensing machine 23. Since there are four automatic dispensing machines 23, 16 parallel prescription bottle columns can approach the dispensing machines. In this embodiment, the four automatic drug dispensing machines each have 384 drug dispensers arranged four columns wide and 96 rows deep to provide a total of 1,536 pill dispensers. The automatic drug dispensing machines are similar to those described in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,305, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Each dispensing lane is divided into 32 buffer assemblies, each containing twelve drug dispensers oriented six on each side of a conveyer within the dispensing machine.
The carrier will be released by PAL station 14 onto a conveyer 45 which carries the carrier loaded with the labeled empty prescription bottles to an automatic dispensing machine 23, of which there are four, one for each PAL station 14. When a carrier moves out of the last row position in a dispensing machine, all of the prescription bottles in that bottle carrier should be filled and a conveyer 56 transports the prescription bottles now filled with the prescriptions to a bottle capper 25.
Bottle quality assurance area 109 has several stations at which pharmacists can scan the bar code on the bottles and visually inspect the contents of the bottles. The scan of the bottle bar code will bring up a display on the pharmacist's terminal which preferably includes all the information regarding the particular prescription and order. Such information can include, for example, the drug name, and instructions which identify the reason for the verification. All of the bottles that pass this inspection can be inserted or reinserted by the pharmacist on a bottle stream conveyer 111 to send the inspected bottles to the BSP (bottle sorting and packaging) station 112. Conveyer 108 leads to a star wheel or other diverter mechanism 114 which, optionally under the control of a controller for BSP station 112, deposits the bottle in a bottle stream conveyer 116 leading to the bottle quality assurance area 109 or into a bottle stream conveyer 118 leading to BSP station 112.
If the literature pack is on conveyer 34, but because of failure of the bar code reader (not shown) or the literature sorting mechanism (not shown), does not get diverted at BSP station 112, conveyer 34 will carry the literature package to package quality assurance area 96 where the literature pack can be manually added to the package. If, because of a malfunction, a literature envelope is not deflected by a deflector 89 (FIG. 3), because of, for example, an improper bar code on the envelope, the envelope will continue on conveyer 34 to the end of the conveyer and be dumped into a receptacle at the package quality assurance station 96. If the bag does not contain a literature pack, then the bag is diverted into a tote (not shown) which will then be transported by a conveyer 34 to the package quality assurance station 96, where the shipping container will be assembled with the literature pack manually 137.
As shown in the OCP station 29 of FIG. 3, the four carriers of a rank are first received in a carrier buffer 75 from which they are loaded onto a turntable 77. An RFID tag reader (not shown) verifies that the correct carriers are in place on turntable 77, which selectively rotates the carriers into a position to have the bottles removed by robotic arm 79. OCP station 29 also contains equipment 91 for packing literature into shipping containers, which take the form of bags 83, along with the prescription bottles of a given order. OCP station 29 also includes a bagging machine 181 which presents the bags for successive orders to be loaded in sequence at a loading position. Bagging machine 181 can print a bar code identifying the order directly on each bag 83. The printed data may include the mailing address to which the shipping container is to be sent.
Bag 83 is shown at the loading position with its mouth open. The opening of the mouth of bag 83 can be accomplished by a blower (not shown) provided as part of bagging machine 181. Conveyer 34 brings envelopes 85 containing literature to be packed in shipping containers to OCP station 29 in the reverse sequence that the patient orders are to be packed at that OCP station 29 for a given rank of carriers. At OCP stations 29, literature conveyor 34 can be in the form of a literature sortation system of the type used in mail sortation by the U.S. Post Office. The literature sortation system can include a pair of belts 88 that pass the envelopes along from station to station. Deflector 89 can optionally be located between each pair of belts 88, and be controlled by the OCP station controller to deflect selected literature envelopes into a literature dispensing mechanism 91.
When a rank of carriers is directed to a given OCP station 29 by PAC 10 from bottle cappers 25, PAC 10 can send an unload message to the controller for the OCP station 29. The unload message can contain an indication of the sequence that the orders are to be unloaded from the rank of carriers at the station, as well as containing the information as to the scheduled position of the bottles of each order in the four carriers of the rank of carriers to be unloaded. At the same time that PAC 10 sends an unload message to the controller of the OCP station 29, it can send a corresponding autopublish message to printers 31. The message can contain the information to be printed for the complete orders contained in the rank of carriers being sent to an OCP station 29. The autopublish message will also contain the sequence in which the corresponding orders are to be unloaded at the OCP station 29. In response to the auto publish message, one of the printers 31 will print literature for the orders and deposit the literature packs for the orders on literature conveyer 34 in reverse order from that in which the orders are to be unloaded at the OCP station 29.
Each literature pack is preferably enclosed in an envelope having a die cut window through which a bar code is readable by a bar code reader 87. The bar code can be printed by an appropriate printer 31 to identify the order for which the literature pack is printed. As the envelopes containing literature packs are carried past the OCP station 29 in the literature sortation system, the bar code readable through the window in each envelope will be read by a bar code reader 87, that can verify that the bar code coincides with an order in the unload message received by the controller for OCP station 29. The controller for OCP station 29 will then cause deflector 89 to deflect the envelope into literature dispensing mechanism 91. Since the conveyor brings the literature envelopes to an OCP station 29 in the reverse sequence that the corresponding patient order is to be packed at the packing station, the envelopes will be packed into the dispensing mechanism in that sequence. When bag 83 is ready to be packed at an OCP station 29, literature dispensing mechanism 91 first inserts a literature envelope into the bag 83 where it will be positioned at one side of the bag (by, e.g., gravity). This effect is achieved by orienting the bag 83 at a slight tilted position at bagging machine 181. After the literature has been inserted, robotic arm 79 unloads the bottles of the order from the scheduled positions in the four carriers on the turntable in accordance with the unload message. Robotic arm 79 preferably includes a bar code reader so that each time a bottle is lifted out of a carrier by robotic arm 79, the label on the bottle is read and verified.
The prescription bottles are then loaded into the bag 83 by a bottle loading mechanism 93. When the shipping containers 83 have been verified and filled with a literature pack and with a patient's order, the bag is sealed and dropped onto a conveyer 95 which carries the sealed shipping container to a mailing area where the bag is read and logged and then mailed to the customer. If the bag 83 does not contain a literature pack, then the bag is diverted into a tote 99 which will then be transported by a conveyer 101 to the package quality assurance station 96 where the shipping container will be assembled with the literature pack manually.
An alternative automated prescription filling system and method with automated labeling and packaging system and method and automated order consolidation system/method in U.S. Pat. No. 6,892,512 issued to Rice et al., which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. One embodiment of the U.S. Pat. No. 6,892,512 is a system that includes an order consolidation station configured to receive at least one bottle containing pills individually counted and/or at least one package containing pharmaceutical products without having been designated for any of the orders when the package was created and/or at least one literature pack optionally including patient specific information. The order consolidation station is further configured to combine automatically the received bottle and/or package and/or literature pack into a container to be sent to a recipient including, for example, mail order pharmacies, wholesalers and/or central fill dealers for subsequent distribution or sale including retailer distribution or sale. The bottle is specifically designated for the order, and the order generally includes at least one prescription for the package.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,010,899 issued to McErlean, et al., which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes an alternative embodiment of a system and method of placing a printed label on a bag. A first plurality of rollers can feed one or more bags, and a second plurality of rollers can feed one or more labels. Additionally, for example, a tamp pad can place the label on the bag. As shown in FIG. 4, bagger 181 can be used with either or both of system 100 and ALPS system 250.
FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 2, and shows exemplary aspects of the automated pill dispensing system 310 shown in FIG. 4. In operation, one or more literature packs can be printed on a printer 31, and sent to a collator 32 for collation into individual literature packs. More than one collator 32 can optionally be used. Once literature packs are collated, they can travel, for example, on a standard pinchbelt conveyor 33 to a literature pack sorter 35, where they are sorted into literature pack batches. Although two literature pack sorters 35 are shown, any number of literature pack sorters can be utilized to suit, for example, cost and/or volume considerations. On command from, for example, an OCP station 29, the literature pack batches can optionally be manually transferred from the one or more sorters 35 to a dispatch unit 36. Again, any number of dispatch units can be utilized to accommodate, for example, manufacturing, facility size and/or cost requirements or constraints. Dispatch units 36 can feed the literature packs to an OCP station 29.
Some systems, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 1-5, can also include, for example, a PAC router, between the Host Computer 9 and the PAC 10, that can divert work between various dispensing pharmacies. The PAC router can include a smart scheduler that can determine, for example, based on cost, where to route an order. The PAC router can achieve, for example, load distribution and/or matching of an order with an appropriate dispensing pharmacy.
We have determined, however, that the above systems lack the ability and have never considered the functionality of branding the bottle, package, and/or container with indicia corresponding to a plurality of parties when the dispensing systems dispense medication and/or pharmaceuticals for multiple pharmacy brands and/or multiple pharmacy health benefit plans, and the like.